Israeli politicians have condemned the decision by the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada to recognize a Palestinian state, a move that deepens Israel’s isolation on the international stage, CNN reports.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana called British Prime Minister Keir Starmer a “modern appeaser who chose shame.”
Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, said that recognition is a reward for murderers and “demands immediate countermeasures: the immediate implementation of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and the complete dissolution of the ‘Palestinian’ Authority.”
Judea and Samaria is the term commonly used in Israel to refer to the occupied West Bank.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded by saying that the time when Britain and other countries determined Israel’s future is over.
“The only response to this anti-Israeli action is to implement sovereignty over the ancient homeland of the Jewish people in Judea and Samaria, and to remove once and for all the absurd idea of a Palestinian state from the agenda.”
Yair Golan, an Israeli politician who leads the left-wing Democrats party, said the “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state is “a grave diplomatic failure by Netanyahu and Smotrich – a devastating move for Israel’s security.”
The Forum of Families of Hostages and Disappeared, which represents the families of those taken hostage on October 7, said it “condemns the unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state by various nations while turning a blind eye to the fact that 48 hostages remain in Hamas captivity after the October 7 massacre.”
There has been no statement yet from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
